Whats Within Us
by WilliamtheBloody
Summary: Buffy 2nd Season - A 300 year old tomb unearthed in Sunnydale spells trouble for the gang. Soon all their worst nightmares will be a dangerous reality. But what do they fear most?
1. Surprise

"What's Within Us"

"What's Within Us"

**__**

Prologue:

Xander stood in a heap. His limbs trembled beneath him. The blood drained from his thin face and his eyes glazed over with sorrow. His first foot toward the table took an age, it dragged, plodded. The second clung onto the momentum and swung out in front of the other. His face contorted at the sight in front of him. It was part bitter heartache, part revulsion. Buffy lay out on Giles' table with an arm falling limply down the side. She looked more beautiful than Xander had ever seen her. Peaceful and silent. The kind of serenity that accompanies death like the calm following the raging storms. Xander reached out for her and touched her face, still warm. "She's dead." he exhaled. "I killed her."

**__**

Part 1:

Rock music boomed almost to the point of distortion throughout the club. The dance floor vibrated with each wave of sound and with the dancing of dozens of teens. The coloured lights bobbed and weaved amongst the crowd like a boxer, casting each person with a new face. The Bronze was particularly packed this evening. It the end of the term and the last school night for almost two weeks. To the naked eye the crowd looked like a mass of bodies intermingling, free from the bias of the highschool social class structure. But on the ground armed with a knowledge of who's who one could clearly distinguish the usual groups and divisions. 

One such group sat at a suitably small round table to the left of the stage. Willow's gazed uncompromisingly at the Dingo's onstage. In particular at Oz, the lead guitarist and her boyfriend. She attended all of his gigs religiously which never failed to fill her with awe despite the sameness of the music. She was caught in the web of wonder that was Oz. "Oz is amazing tonight, don't you think?" she asked without turning away. "Sounds pretty much like any other night Will." Xander replied. Buffy piped up for the first time that night. 

"Don't mind him. I think he's actually getting better every time he plays".

"It speaks. What's the matter with you tonight Buffy. You're about as talkative as Vampires are pensive". Buffy looked at Xander in understanding. "I know." she said. Willow broke her fix on Oz and turned to Buffy in sudden concern. "Thinking about Angel again?". Buffy looked halfway between surprise and puzzlement. "Actually no, well not until you brought it up". Willow dipped her head. "Oh no, I didn't mean it like that. It's just that I've been getting a weird feeling today. Like I'm sensing something". Xander snapped back to the conversation. "Are you sure it isn't gas!".

But it wasn't gas. Buffy had this kind of feeling before. It was the feeling she got when a vamp was near or some other kind of demonic presence loomed over her. The same but altered somehow. Not quite as malevolent, but at the same time more subversive. She felt in her head, her heart. In her back and at the ends of her fingers. It hung in the air like an odour and osmosised into every pore of her skin.

"I'm gonna' go." Buffy stood and pulled her light blue silk jacket from the back of her chair. Willow looked panicked. 

"Already, but Oz isn't even finished yet."

"That's alright you can stay. I'm only going to be patrolling tonight anyway." Xander now gathered himself. "Yeah maybe I'll turn in for the night too. Just not the same without Cordelia to chastise me for everything I do. Don't worry Willow I'll keep her safe 'til I get home." They looked at Xander with raised eyebrows. "Eh okay. So _she'll _keep _me_ safe until we get home." Buffy turned back to Willow.

"Will you be okay."

"Oh sure Oz will give me a ride home. You go. Slay. Have fun."

Outside the Bronze the night air was cool against their skin. The darkness brought with it a crisp freshness. Patrolling at night Buffy often thought to her-self how alive it made her feel to breathe in the cleanest of air. Ironically those who were taking in this air most of the time were those who also were least alive. The vampires.

"So how long is Cordelia going to be in Aspen." Buffy was first to break the silence. They sometimes felt awkward when they were alone together knowing how each felt about the other. "About a week." Xander replied.

"At least it'll give us some time together on the holidays. So eh, how you holding up with this whole Angel thing."

"I'm dealing. I'd just prefer not to talk about it."

"Okay. You know don't think you can't talk to me about it just because…"

From out of the shadows a vampire came screaming at them. Buffy instinctually pushed Xander aside and he crashed into some bins. She took the full force of the vampires attack as he pushed her against a wall. He was what Buffy would categorise as a 'biker vamp'. All longhaired, jeans, leathers and bad breath. He was also exceptionally strong, even for a vampire.

She drove up into his solar plexus with her knee and pushed him back. He came at her again but this time she spun him into the side window of a parked car. His demonic face scarred with blood spun back and grabbed her. He punched her hard in the face. She head-butted him square on. It didn't seem to affect him and she quickly felt the glancing blow of his bony fist again. The vampire grabbed her by the shoulders and threw her onto the bonnet of the car. She struggled against him as he tried to push his face down toward her throat. His breath seemed to choke her and saliva dripped from his pointed fangs onto her supple neck. She tried to move but couldn't. She was pinned down and helpless. She looked to her side. "Xander help…" He wasn't moving in the heap in which he landed. 'He must have hit his head on the way down' she thought. She turned back to her attacker and their eyes locked. The look was now not one of hate and intent but of curious shock. The skin on his face began to rapidly dry up and tighten. He aged about a hundred years in about a second and then exploded into a cloud of dust.

The grip on her wrists has dissolved, literally, and she wiped away the freeze-dried vampire from her eyes. She quickly found the cause of the vampire's demise. A man stood in front of her, standing about six-foot tall and wearing a long draping trench coat and a Trillby hat. His arm stretched out toward her with a wooden stake clasped in his hand. Buffy took a quick deep breath in light of this new presence and at the position it stood in. The weird feeling she had been having all day was now amplified and tingling every part of her body. It froze her, holding her almost as strongly as the vampire had.

The figure whose face was obscured by the rampant shadows backed away slowly into a dark corner of the alley. Buffy pulled herself off of the bonnet. "Who are you?" she questioned the shadow. A few renegade shards of light cut out some of the man's form from the darkness. She waited and then spoke again in a more aggressive tone. "Enough with the Boo Radley! Who are you?"

The light in the alley seemed to become drowned by the darkness. What little form there was of the stranger began to fade as he backed away. Buffy walked slowly forward toward the stranger. He promptly turned on his heels and ran off with amazing speed. Still confused Buffy started to pursue but was yanked back by a groaning from behind. Xander was waking up. He struggled to his feet and Buffy raced to help him up.

"Ouch my head. What happened? Oh right yeah vampire. Are you alright."

"Oh, I'm fine how about you?"

"My head feels like how a bust watermelon looks."

Xander brushed some dust off of Buffy's shoulders. "I guess you took out the midnight intruder then. Looks like you'll be needing new and improved biological Biz for whiter whites and more coloured… colours. He paused looking at Buffy.

"You okay."

"We have to go see Giles, right now."


	2. Bulgarian History 101

WhatsWithinUspart2 **__**

Part 2

Giles leafed through the pages of the book, flipping page after page and only pausing when a word or phrase caught his eye. He had been sipping tea from the same cup for almost an hour. The rings around the inside of the cup were a testament to its content's longevity. He was so engrossed in his studies that he hadn't even notice how the tea had grown cold. He hadn't even noticed the arrival of Buffy and Xander. Buffy hurried over to Giles startling him in the process. Xander strutted. He didn't feel as motivated as usual because he missed the night's main event and Buffy was in too much of a rush to get to the library to talk about it.

Giles had finally collected himself and now turned his attentions to the new arrivals. "Buffy? What are you doing here so late? You're not on patrol tonight."

"Well you see, that's the thing about evil, so inconsiderate when it's comes to my 'alone time'." Giles' face hung in silence for a few seconds. "Evil, oh, well I think you should sit down and tell me about it." He turned to Xander and frowned. "Xander you're bleeding, I thought you were going to stay out of the fighting." Xander felt his head, probing for injury. His hand ran over a damp patch in his hair that was quickly turning dry and sticky. He pulled his hand away and looked at the bloodstains. He wasn't used to seeing his own blood, in fact he wasn't used to seeing any blood at all. When a vampire got staked they'd just turn to dust. Even with a demon the blood was usually green or some other strange colour, making it seem somehow unreal to him. But as he looked at blood working it's way into the grooves on his hand it became very real. He suddenly felt a bit flustered.

"She…", he uttered. "She did it." He panicked like a young child who had just broken a pane of glass. "She hurt me." Giles leafed through Xander's hair as Buffy put on her best innocent face. "It's alright, it's just a scratch, there's some disinfectant in the press in my office." Looking disgusted Xander tramped off into Giles' office. "Now… what happened." Giles sat at the table with Buffy as she began to recant the events of the night. Giles scowled at her and she skipped the part about Rick Johnston asking Kelly Winters out to dance even though he was already dating Sara Davies. When she moved on to the part about the mysterious stranger staking the vamp he suddenly became more alert and attentive.

"Well this mysterious stranger sounds very, well eh mysterious"

"And strange?" Xander finished as he returned from the office with a bandage held to head. "Yes well he certainly doesn't sound like a native of the town." Buffy chimed in, "I guess and at least he didn't try to kill me which is a good thing. But I've been getting a weird feeling all day. It was like I was sensing demons. But when he appeared the feeling got so much stronger. It made me feel all wiggy." Giles sat back in his seat and pushed his glasses back up his nose. He recognised the tone in her voice and the look in her eyes. She was indeed 'wigged'. Frightened even. He shuffled in his chair trying to break his train of thought and where it may lead him. "Well his appearance is one thing but his _disappearance_ was pretty freakalicious too." Xander said. With a sarcastic nod toward Buffy he continued, "I was just coming out of my Slayer induced comatose but I seen the guy disappear quicker than members of our swim team." Giles grabbed a copy of the 'Sunnydale Reporter' that was lying half-folded on the table beside the small stack of books that he had been studying earlier. He flipped it open and placed it in the middle of table between himself and Buffy. Xander gathered around to see what was in the paper. 

The Reporter was lying open on the page three and in its centre the heading was encircled with black marker. 'Tomb Unearthed on Outskirts of Sunnydale'. Giles explained.

"Your friend will have to wait for now, it looks like we may have other concerns. This tomb was uncovered just outside the town. They were building some new housing when a bulldozer pulled it up. An archaeologist who examined it believes it's been there for a few hundred years but without carbon dating it's hard to be sure."

"Wow, that's old even compared to some of the stuff around here." Buffy leaned forward with her head in her hands, weary from the night's exertions. Xander took and held the paper in his hands skimming through the prose. "So what kind of nastiness has the Hellmouth spat at us this time, some kind of super-vampire, a twelve armed demon who slaps people to death."

"A warlock actually. And sorry to disappoint you but he's quite dead. Even when he was alive he served the forces of good." Buffy's face contorted and she sat up again. "So why the big oooooh! If he's good, dead and locked up in a box shouldn't that even be enough to ease your mind."

"Does the word 'no' surprise you." Xander was all too familiar with Giles' nose for danger. Actually it wasn't so much a nose rather than a whole head. He may not show it all the time but Giles had, he knew, a keen insight into most things living and all things undead. If this unearthing were enough to get Giles' hairs standing on end then Xander would sit up and take note.

Giles shuffled in his chair again this time to a more austere sitting position. "Perhaps I should give you the history, or at least what I've found out so far. From the inscriptions on the tomb door in the photograph I have determined that the occupant is most likely a chap called 'Sa Ruen' a warlock from the 12th century. Apparently he was something of mercenary along with his two brothers who were fierce warlords. They'd travel Europe offering their services to the highest bidders no matter what the cause."

Xander stepped in, "Kind of like the A-Team, but bad. 'I pity the fool…'" Buffy smiled. She always enjoyed Xander's smart remarks, even at the inappropriate times when she'd have to hold back a grin. Giles cut Xander down condescendingly. "Please Xander this is not the time for you witticisms." He continued as Xander hung his head in a chastised silence. 

"The three brothers soon came to be employed by the Emperor of Bulgaria. At the time Bulgaria was being invaded by the Ottomans."

"I thought they just made furniture." Buffy said and then shrunk back with a disappointed glare from Giles. "Do you actually attend you history classes. Anyway, Sa Ruen along with his brothers Etha and Krios rallied the Bulgarian armies and held the Ottomans. The Emperor then ordered them to use their magic and cunning to invade and destroy the Ottoman Empire. Knowing how many people would be killed in the process Sa Ruen refused. Now in great danger for refusing to obey the Emperor he tried to escape, leaving his brothers behind. Needless to say the Emperor killed them and his elite guards were sent after Sa. They eventually caught up with him in Romania and well, killed him." 

"So how did he end up in Sunnydale?" Xander was now trying to worm his way back into Giles' good books by faining interest. 

"Well the elite guard took Sa Ruen's body and cut out his tongue to make sure even in death he could never again utter a spell to curse them or somehow take revenge."

"Ouch!"

"They then buried him in a tomb in Bulgaria which was then watched by the Emperors guards. Without the brothers however the Ottoman Empire eventually conquered Bulgaria in 1396. The tomb was moved to prevent the Ottomans from obtaining Sas magical artefacts and it's been on the move ever since."

Buffy screwed her face up and reiterated Xander earlier question, "So how did he end up in Sunnydale?" Giles' eyes flickered between the two of them.

"Well no-one is actually sure how, that is to say it has never been recorded how the tomb got here. Perhaps when America was first discovered the tomb was moved simply because this was then the furthest point away from Europe"

"And hence away from sticky fingers trying to grab up some magic stuff."

"Quite."

Xander folded his arms, now genuinely engaged in the conversation. "So what do we do now? I mean as long as nobody's looking for him we're alright, yeah! And besides in case you hadn't noticed Bulgarians and Ottomans aren't exactly a dime a dozen in Sunnydale." Giles pulled the glasses from his face and rubbed his tired eyes. He had been stuck to his books for the past six hours since he had discovered the newspaper in the faculty lounge. The constant book watching was taking a toll. "It's not that simple Xander. The tomb may contain very powerful artefacts. If any-one got their hands on them and misused them we could be looking at the next apocalypse."

Xander's face lit up "Another apocalypse aww shucks, but we just had one last week. We're not due another for at least for a fortnight." Buffy stood up from the cluttered table taking the no nonsense Slayer stance all of the gang had become accustomed to.

"No Giles is right. We should nip this thing in the butt as soon as possible."

"Okay! Point me to the butts… and I'll nip!"


	3. Visions to Die From

WhatsWithinUspart3 **__**

Part 3

A colourful splash struck the dusty ground sending up a small cloud. The grey dust stirred amongst the red without mixing. It settled for a moment before another splash dispersed the coagulating specks. Less than an inch away the table leg had punched a hole in the thin blanket of powder. A trickle of blood slid down the wood, bobbing and weaving it's way into and out of the grain. It reached the bottom of the leg and collected at the base forming a crimson crescent shape. The continuous flow forced it to spread across the divide and join up with the splashes forming an irregular pattern on the floor.

"Careful love, you're spilling it."

Spike wheeled across the room toward the waist high oak table crossing the parallel tracks he had created 'pacing' the room all evening. Druscilla was feeding. A fresh corpse lay uncomfortably upon the table with the ghost white vampire hanging over it like the first scavenger on a newly mauled beast. She was queen of this fallen animal. Instinctively her head snapped toward Spike as she heard his approach. Her yellow eyes glared as she smacked her blood-smeared lips. Her predatory instinct subsided. She pulled her draping hair out of the spattered blood on the dead man's neck. 

"Do you want to join me for dinner."

Dru's voice was soft and angelic. She would exhale her words rather than speak them. Spike smiled, "Dinner for two. Just like old times." Druscilla smiled wickedly as she pushed the blood-spattered torso across to Spike as he moved closer. His wheelchair wedged itself just under the tabletop and he tried in vain to lunge across to the body without pushing the chair backward from under him. It was beyond his reach and he let out a frustrated sigh. Dru's smile dropped.

"Don't worry Spikey. I'll mush some blood up in a cup for you later and spoon feed it to you."

Angel had glided into the room in his usual stealthy manner. Only the footprints behind him attested to the fact that he had walked in rather than been dropped from the sky. "Cheers mate." Spike retorted sarcastically, gritting his teeth. Angel loved to dig at Spike whenever he could. The wheelchair and Spike's disability were not the catalyst for the constant harassing but rather the fuel. Angel didn't really bear Spike any grudge. It was just a case of 'too many cooks' spoiling the broth that he wanted to keep all to himself. He moved over to Druscilla easily and wiped a spot of blood from her face with his finger. He licked his fingers groaning in subtle pleasure and made sure Spike was paying attention.

Spike _did_ bear a grudge against Angel however. He wanted shot of him. When _Angelus_ first reappeared he was ecstatic. Not only was the sickeningly sweet Angel out of the way but the odds had become stacked against the Slayer. But then he started to move in on his fair sire. Slowly but surely he was winning her over. Spike could see it in her face. It was vintage Angelus. When he saw a weakness he exploited it, and Spike's 'temporary' disability was a definite weakness. He had suffered from his broken back ever since part of that church had collapsed on he and Dru after the ritual to restore her to health. That was more of the Slayer's handy work he thought. But vampires had regenerative powers. His strength grew from day to day, as did his resolve to dispatch of Angelus. How he longed for the whiney pining brooding Angel of old.

"Where have you been?" Spike asked as he spun his chair and began 'pacing' again. Angel turned.

"Why were you worried?"

"Yeah, thought you might accidentally have stepped into direct sunlight."

Then under his breath Spike uttered "Kind of hoped actually."

"No I wouldn't do that. After all… couldn't leave Dru here alone."

"She's not alone, mate!"

"Well I just meant someone she could take her out… upstairs… over curbs etc. No I just went down to the papers shop and picked up a copy of the 'Reporter'."

Angel pulled a finger across his lips "Along with the paper boy."

He grabbed the corpse by the once tidy starched shirt collar and dragged it off of the tabletop landing it in an unnatural looking heap. He threw the paper onto the table. The back pages absorbed some of the blood instantly, sticking them to the table. But the front page was what caught the attention of Druscilla who had returned to her more human looking form. She drew in a deep breath and closed her eyes. "I can see it. It brings death, and fear. Oodles of fear." Angel loved it when Dru did this. He could almost feel the energy from her visions.

"What else do you see?"

"A foe! He dances with the fear. He controls it… with a ring. Ring ring. Ring ring." She spun and danced away. "Ring ring." Spike began to pace again. "Great! So what does this do for us? Can we go dancing with fear too?" Angel scoffed "Poor uneducated Spike. I recognised this tomb from a picture I seen over a hundred years ago. The picture was attached to the arm of a man who was looking for it. He was a nice man actually. A little hard to digest though. He told me, well screamed at me that the tomb contained some powerful magical artefacts. One of them was ring. A ring that could induce crippling fear on others if used right." He turned away from the others. "And I have a pretty good idea about how to use it."


	4. Into the Darkness

WhatsWithinUspart4 **__**

Part 4

It was the night following Buffy's strange encounter. A decision had been made on a plan of action. The Scooby gang had blown off a second night of celebrations at the Bronze to tend to some more Hellmouthy matters. They had driven to the tomb's location in Oz's van. It was a tight fit with all of the Dingo's music equipment. Giles stretched his back every so often trying to ele the onset of cramp. Willow had called shotgun not surprisingly. Buffy and Xander seemed fine. Buffy being so nubile from general Slayer exercises and Xander lived in a cramped basement under his parent's house and was used to a tight squeeze.

The group skulked along a chain link fence. They hugged it almost like it provided some sort of cover for their approach. The reality was that their stealth factor was in no way affected by clinging to the see-through barrier. It just seemed like the appropriate thing to do.

Xander wore his camouflage. The mish-mash of greens blended naturally with the rustic browns of the excavation site, or so he thought. Still, he had had them ever since that Halloween fiasco and wearing them seemed to bring back memories of his magic induced manliness. He inched his way along the perimeter following the other's.

Oz took up the rear strolling casually with his hands embedded in his pockets his green army surplus carryall slung over his shoulder. He looked around with a familiar confused/inquisitive look before he spoke up.

"Uh guys. Why are we sneaking around? There's no security."

The gang stopped, looked at each other and slowly straightened themselves. Then they continued along the fence. They eventually reached the gates. A pair of chain linked frames just like that rest of the fencing but hinged at either end. They spanned the dirt track that led into the compound. The wide tire tracks were still visible from when days before heavy-duty dumpsters and other construction vehicles had trundled their way back and forth from the area. It was noisy as hell then but now it fell into a deafening silence.

"O dear." Giles said.

His remark was in response to the padlocked gates. Buffy stepped forward and grasped the lock in both hands. She pulled hard and soon wrenched the pin from the locking mechanism. The gates squealed open piercing the night. No one came running to investigate as the gang moved in tentatively. Upon the realisation that there really was no security they all relaxed somewhat. "This is a bit weird." Willow said. "I mean, you'd think that between the construction company and the archaeologists that there would be at least a night watchman or something." Buffy agreed. She didn't like it. Giles tried belay anyone's rising fears. "Well that is to our advantage Willow. At least we know we won't be disturbed."

They moved hurriedly now through the rubble of old buildings, mounds of earth and craters. They came to a clearing bathed in the glow of the floodlights set up by the excavation team. They focused on the side of a dug away section of a large mound. Set into its face was the entrance to the tomb. It was a plain and unassuming solid rock doorway. The edges had been etched out carefully by the archaeological team and supported with wooden slats. It was also small and narrow, just big enough for a person to move through. Xander peered into the passage.

"Looks like it's gonna' be a tight squeeze the whole way down. It's dark too."

"Good job we brought these."

Oz reached into his bag and pulled out three battery-powered torches and handed them out. Giles searched into the darkness with his. Even with the high powered lights the darkness within the tomb was overpowering and they couldn't see in very far. "Okay" Buffy stood at the doorway. "I'll go first, but everybody stay together." Willow turned to Buffy "Can we hurry this up this place gives me the wiggins." Buffy knew what she meant. The place was Creepcity. "Don't worry Will. We'll be out of here soon." She turned into the doorway and walked down the passageway.


	5. Deal Me In

WhatsWithinUspart5 **__**

Part 5

It was a quiet night in Willy's bar. Only the regulars were in the place either slumped over the bar or sipping ales in the shadowy corners. Willy himself stood cleaning beer glasses behind the bar with a rag. Cleanliness wasn't really an issue for his customers. They spent most of the day in run-down apartment blocks, under bridges or in sewers.

Willy lamented on his situation. On one hand he was getting tired of the bar business. And things had been slow lately, which didn't help matters. The local demons were trying to keep out of the way of Angel and Buffy. Willy thought of maybe moving to L.A. and starting a career in acting. On the other hand he was kind of proud of his bar. He had swindled it from some guy fair and square. He thought of it as kind of a sanctuary where both demons and humans could enjoy a quiet drink together and check that whole 'mutual hatred' thing at the door. It was on this high note that Willy's thoughts were interrupted.

A strange face had slunk into the bar without his notice. Dressed in a long tan trench coat the man looked more like a police detective rather than a demon. He sat down at the bar in front of Willy finally catching his attention. The stranger peered up at him from beneath the rim of the Trillby with a cold gaze and piercing eyes. Willy was instantly nervous. Of course anything remotely intimidating made Willy nervous.

"What'll it be." he stammered.

"Information." the man answered.

"Uh, what kind of information."

Willy was definitely not happy right now. Not only did new faces make him nervous but also the guy was looking for information. That kind of exchange, Willy knew, often involved him getting punched in the face, or worse.

"The tomb. On the outskirts of town. You've heard of it."

The man had a kind of serenity in his demeanour that Willy found both comforting and unnerving at the same time. His eyes focused on Willy's and rooted his feet to the ground.

"Yeah, it was in the papers." Willy replied.

"Good."

The stranger broke his gaze for the first time and looked at the bar as if he was thinking. After a pause he locked eyes with Willy again.

"Do you know of any… parties that would perhaps be interested in such a find. By that I mean any… unnatural people."

Willy knew exactly what he meant but as usual he made things hard for himself.

"I don't know what you mean, 'unnatural' I mean, I guess those historians and archaeologists, they can be pretty freaky sometimes".

The stranger broke his gaze again and nodded softly. He looked around the darkened interior cataloguing whatever he could make out.

"You run a bar, that caters for demons of most races. Vampires, Coulags and… well I don't know what that is. My point is I'm sure you know of anyone who would take a special interest in the tomb apart from historians and archaeologists. Now you'd better tell me… or I'll cut your head off."

He pulled back his coat slightly with his right hand exposing the handle and several inches of a long and very sharp sword. Willy gulped as he looked at the blade and then turned again to the stranger.

"Well there is the Slayer and her gang."

"Slayer? The Vampire Slayer."

"That's the one, and I guess Angel might have some kind of interest too."

"You mean Angelus!"

"Yeah I guess, why you know him. Well anyway he's shacked up with Druscilla and Spike somewheres. That's all I got. I swear."

The stranger seemed to be disturbed by this information. His forehead wrinkled pulling the rim of his hat downward.

"You know where I can find the Slayer and Angelus."

"I don't know where Angel is but the Slayer mostly hangs out at school. Sunnydale High."

The man stood and to Willy's relief closed over his jacket. Without a word he backed off from the bar, took a cautious look around and walked out of the bar without making a sound.

When he was gone Willy exhaled. That acting career was looking better and better.


	6. In the Face of Her Adversity

WhatsWithinUspart6 **__**

Part 6

The tunnels were dark, dank and seemed to twist and turn forever. The group was swabbed in their own searching lights as they moved silently through the tomb's interior. They had entered the tomb more than fifteen minutes ago but still there was no end in sight. Xanders torch flickered every now and then losing Giles' back to the pitch black.

Buffy nursed a small gash on her right forearm. It was the result of an unsprung booby trap that had laid in wait for them for who knows how long. But the unsprung booby traps weren't what caused her shoulders to tense nor her breath to quicken. It wasn't even the four other traps that had already been sprung. She had examined them thoroughly and found no blood. Anyone who could get past them had to have some kind of heightened sense of awareness, and that meant demons or vampires.

They were all on their guard now. Up ahead they could see light spilling around a corner. The gang approached carefully not wanting to disturb any one that may be in the tomb already. When they reached the corner Buffy peered around. The tomb opened up into what seemed to be a large circular chamber. A thick pillar not four feet away from her obstructed her vision. She could see more pillars to the left and right, evidently following the architecture of the chamber. The light was coming from burning torches fixed to the far side of every pillar. She couldn't see anyone for sure but she heard some shuffling of feet in the dusty floor and a low murmur.

Buffy turned to Giles.

"Stay here, I'm going to have a look!" 

"Be careful, and shout if you need help."

Keeping her back to wall Buffy slunk into the chamber. She crept up behind the pillar that had obstructed her view and took refuge in a pool of darkness at its base. Very carefully she moved her head sideways around the pillar. At the centre of the large chamber stood a large stone coffin. Covering every surface of it were inscriptions that she couldn't make out. Several figures had gathered around the coffin. Five vampires. One of them stood in the middle of the group with his arms folded and a cruel satisfied smile on his face. Buffy face drained of blood as she recognised Angel's sculpted features in the torchlight. She felt sick that she would have to yet again fight with her former love.

She turned away and resisted the temptation to look at him. It hurt her deep inside to look at him and know that if he knew she was here he would do everything he could to make sure she never left. She shook it off and regained her perspective. A plan began to formulate in her head. Backing off slowly she returned to the gang who were still waiting in the tunnel.

"Well, what is it?" Giles inquired impatiently.

Buffy paused, struggling. "It's Angel. And he's got four vamps with him."

The wind went out of everyone, particularly Giles. The numbers were even but the odds were against them. Buffy added "There's some kind of coffin in that chamber, actually it's the only thing in there." Giles looked up from his feet. "A coffin. Have they opened it yet?" There was a loud crash as they heard the coffin lid being pulled away and dumped on the ground. "I think that's a safe bet." Xander said looking even more nervous than usual. Rational Giles took over. "It's very likely that whatever artefacts the Warlock had were buried on his person." He looked Buffy square in the eyes.

"We can't let Angel take them."

"I know." She replied softly.

"Look we can't take them on here, it's too confined. Let's get outside and get them in a bottle-neck coming out of the tunnels."

Giles nodded. "We should also have the element of surprise on our side."

"Well we're gonna' need it because they have the element of pure evil on theirs."

They made their way back down the dusty tunnels and arrived at the entrance in less time than it took to get to the chamber. For convenience Oz had left his bag behind a nearby bulldozer rather than carry it all the way down the narrows tunnels. They share out the weapons, an assortment of stakes, holy water, medieval looking axes and hooks and of course the ever-reliable crossbow. Willow took that. It was the thing she could best use giving her size, strength and her resolve not to get too close to a vampire.

They each took up a position. They stood in a semicircle around the entrance with Buffy in the middle. Then they waited. Buffy's shoulders were becoming sore and stiff from tensing. The calm night was only disturbed by the soft whisperings of the night air. The cool crisp night air seemed to elevate their senses to heightened levels. Then suddenly a glimmer. They saw a light in the tunnel coming toward them. "This is it, here we go." Buffy thought readying herself.

The light seemed inordinately bright. In fact the whole tunnel seemed to light up. From out of the doorway a vampire came screaming out, engulfed in a ball of fire. The flames licked at his limbs and climbed over him like a starving beast. He flailed about like some incensed primate while his awful screams pierced the night. The gang swayed backward fearing the heat and the smell of burning flesh. Even Buffy was rattled. She rocked back on her heels hard as the human torch lunged at her.

The distraction worked perfectly. Three vampires came from the darkness of the tomb and attacked the group. One leapt on Giles and they wrestled each other to the ground. The burning vampire dropped to his hands and knees and exploded, dissipating into an orange haze. A second and third vampire jumped through the haze and engaged Buffy. Oz ran to help Giles who was struggling against his attacker. Willow's hand jumped from vampire to vampire as her crossbow searched for a target. Every time she honed in one they moved position.

Buffy was fighting hard against the two vampires and holding her own. They were strong but not particularly experienced in fighting. Not thinking about it much she concluded that they hadn't been vampires for long. She also concluded that they wouldn't be vampires for much longer either. She was slammed hard against the huge wheel of a dump truck by the two like a wrestling tag team throwing an opponent onto the ropes. She poised for a double body slam as she pushed her-self off the wheel. Instead, the steel tip of Willow's arrow struck home and the wooden shaft passed clean through one of the vampire's hearts. His body turned to dust and floated to the ground nestling on the arrow.

Taking advantage of the decrease in numbers Buffy dropkicked her remaining foe with both feet sending him flying through the air. He landed about two feet away from Giles and Oz. Giles now had the upper hand against his assailant. Both of his arms were locked around the vampire's chest and in behind his head. Oz was punching the vampire in the stomach trying to knock the wind out of him.

Buffy raised her legs and flipped herself up from the ground. She raced over to the vamp struggling to stand, his eyes bursting with pain. The other one snapped his head back cracking Giles in the face who fell on his backside with pain and shock. Buffy launched her foot into the face her vampire blasting him off of his knees and onto the ground again. In the same movement she turned on her heel and kicked the other one in the stomach. He doubled over instantly and clutched his belly.

Buffy pulled out a stake she had tucked into her pants and leapt to the grounded vampire, plunging the wooden rod into his heart destroying him. She turned around in time to see Willow throwing Oz a stake, which he plunged through the doubled over vampire's back and through his heart. Ozs hand pushed through the vampires body as it quickly turned to dust.

Buffy helped Giles to his feet as the gang gathered in. His knees wobbled a bit at first but he soon stood steady. His nose and mouth were bloodied and some spots seeped into his shirt.

"Are you alright!" Buffy exclaimed worriedly.

"I'll be fine. It's not broken. Just eh… bloodied." He replied.

Buffy looked around scanning the site. "Did anybody see Angel coming out." It annoyed her that she hadn't noticed until now that he didn't join in the fight. It wasn't like him to avoid a chance to fight her. He usually relished such an opportunity, especially with the odds in his favour. Then she remembered why they were here. "Damn. All this was just a distraction so he could get away with the artefacts." Willow looked confused.

"He'd burn up one of his own guys just to cause a distraction."

"Yes, well, I'm afraid that's vintage Angel." Giles said, then he caught a look from Buffy.

"Well that is to say Angelus."

She looked at him forgivingly.

"So what now Giles, Angel has the artefacts and we have nothing."

Oz looked worried. He seemed to be the only one who had noticed something which should have been very obvious to everyone.

"Uh, guys. Where's Xander?"


	7. A Place in the Sun?

"What's Within Us" **__**

Part 7

A quarter of a mile from the tomb a scattering of trees was climbing up the hills into a thick copse. Millers Woods was a picturesque area that often played host to late night boozing parties. The students from the nearby University of Sunnydale would, on occasion, roll in with cars and jeeps crammed with boys, girls and crates of beer. They'd gather around a crackling bonfire underneath the bright moon and play loud music and dance. They'd throw shots on the fire and watch the flames roar their disapproval. Little did they realise that vampires often hid in the forest when they were caught to far out from town at sunrise. The trees in the forest grew so densely that they blocked out most of the sunlight within. It was only the student numbers that had ever kept the vampires at bay.

Angelus knew of this place. He had tracked a couple of vampires here before in his stomach churning fluffy Angel days. Then he was always weary of going into the darkness by himself. But Angelus had no choice. It was nearing sunrise. Another half-hour and he'd be kissing sunrays. He knew he didn't have time to get back to the factory and this was the safest place he could think of. Angelus was surprised that he escaped at all. He hadn't anticipated Buffy and the Slayerettes but he was perfectly willing to sacrifice his own henchman to ensure he got away with what he had come for. In fact he thought it quite clever of himself to set one on fire and kick him out of the tunnel.

Xander was unconscious and slumped over Angel's shoulder like a bag of cement. His limp head bobbed back and forth with every step. There was dried blood on the side of his face and a large gash on his forehead. When Angelus came out of the tunnels he was moving so fast he almost fell over Xander. Instead he moved instinctively and smashed him across the face with the back of his hand. The force was great enough to both break the skin and knock Xander unconscious. 

At first he was going to leave him behind but his mind was working fiendishly quick. He had a plan in his head that he just couldn't resist putting into action. So he pulled Xander onto his shoulder and hauled him the quarter mile up to the woods. The woods ground, coated in dead leaves and twigs snapped as Xander landed with a thump. Angelus rubbed his shoulder and stretched his back. He made sure not to step into any of the rays of light now streaming through the canopy above. He cocked his head as he examined the pile of Xander. From the shallow breathing and blood spatterings he figured he had some hours before the zeppo would wake up.

Angelus delved into his deep jacket pocket and carefully pulled something out. He flipped it around in his fingers for a second and then let it rest. The silver ring glistened in the ambient light. It the shimmered as the hand that held slowly began to tremble with its power. It started to numb the hand from the centre out and the nightmares bound within its form seemed to coarse through Angelus' veins. He quickly dropped it back into the safety of his pocket, turned toward Xander, and smiled.


End file.
